Page 120 of See You There

“What was?”

“Look, babe, I don’t blame you for wanting the extra attention. But why did you tell the police it was my buddy, Hank? He’s a good guy, and now the police are hassling himandme. Not cool.”

Dahlia grit her teeth. “I know what I saw, Chandler. But that’s not why I called. I’m still going to the premiere.” She paused. “But I’m not going as your date.”

“Woah! What? We’re a package. Hashtag Chalia.”

She wrinkled her nose. “No one is using that hashtag.”

“But they could.”

“My new attorney is contacting Alan today about putting out a joint press release, but I wanted to talk to you personally.”

“Babe, don’t be ridiculous. Do you know how bad this is going to make you look? I’m a hero. I got shot defending you.” His voice trailed off, and Dahlia suspected Chandler was crafting a whole new storyline around himself.

“That’s not what happened, and you know it, Chandler.” Dahlia took a deep breath. “I don’t care if I look bad. I’m not doing this anymore.”

Chandler scoffed. “Are you being serious? Why? Do you have a new boyfriend or something?” Dahlia stayed quiet. “Oh, man. It’s that lawyer dude they photographed you with. Alan thought something was up with him. He’s supposed to be a major player.” Chandler sounded admiring.

“This has nothing to do with Luke,” she lied.

“Whatever you say, Lia. Just tell him to stay quiet for a few more weeks. It’s not like we’re actually fucking. Except that one time…” he trailed off.

“We’ve never had sex Chandler.” He had tried, and when she refused, he’d called her a frigid bitch.

“Whatever. I get so much pussy I don’t need yours. Just stick it out another few weeks,” he whined.

“It’s already done, Chandler. I’m just letting you know. I can’t keep doing these interviews pretending like we’re together. It’s wrong.”

“You fucking bitch!” Chandler exploded, surprising Dahlia.

“You are going to fuck this up for all of us! Do you think I won’t throw you under the bus? You think you can dump me and get away with it?” Chandler raged.

“Do what you need to do, Chandler. But it only hurts us both if you ruin the illusion. I was thinking something like ‘This brushwith death has been illuminating to Chandler and Lia. That, while they will always value the time they spent together, they are better as friends. They respectfully request…’ yada, yada…”

“Huh. That’s not bad,” Chandler admitted. “Did you get a new publicist? Better than the crap she usually puts out.” Dahlia wanted to say she had written it, but if Chandler knew it came from her, he’d reject it out of spite. “How are you going to get around I’m recovering from a gunshot?”

“We could stick in a line to cover that. ‘Even though it is difficult to make such a huge decision during this elevated time of emotion, Chandler doesn’t want Dahlia to wait until he heals for her to find happiness.’ What do you think about that?”

The words flowed from her mouth, and even though they were designed to stroke Chandler’s ego, Dahlia realized how true they were. Life was finite. She wasn’t going to do things that made her unhappy anymore. And being tied to Chandlerdefinitelymade her unhappy.

“Okay, have your girl send it to Alan. I’ll cosign it.”

Dahlia covered the phone and let out a heavy breath. “Great, Chandler. Thanks.”

She was just about to end the call when Chandler said, “For whatever it’s worth, I’m sorry for how it all went down, Lia.”

For which part? The groping, the bullying, the misogyny, the loan sharks? His friend trying to kill her? Dahlia decided it was best to keep her thoughts to herself.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Dahlia had beenon the phone or the computer off and on all day. She looked thoughtful when she strolled back into the main room of the cabin.

Luke grinned at the sight of her mismatched outfit. On her top half, she was a movie star with a silk blouse and glamorous hair and makeup for her video meetings. But on the bottom, it was bare feet and casual cotton shorts.

She plopped onto the sofa next to him, one leg tucked under the other. “I did something.”

“Okay.”